


Whumptober 2019 - 13 - Adrenaline

by OllieCollie



Series: Whumptober 2019 [13]
Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: Gen, Whump, and badly injured, but he must go for help, in the middle of nowhere, in the pitch black, running for help, while bleeding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-15 22:40:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21025898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OllieCollie/pseuds/OllieCollie
Summary: He tripped over something—maybe a rock, maybe a stick—and fell headlong into some brush. It was only when he tried to catch himself that he realized his hands were still bound together. There had been no time to find a knife to cut himself loose...or maybe he had looked. Whatever. At this point there was nothing he could do about it, and his mind was screaming at him to get up and run. He shoved himself to his feet and took off, ducking to avoid a low-hanging tree branch.





	Whumptober 2019 - 13 - Adrenaline

**Author's Note:**

> I am too tired for a coherent note today, so please just enjoy this fic that I churned out without having any clue where it was going when I started it. :)

He was running. _ Running. _ He couldn't remember what was so important, but his feet dug into the ground harder with each step he took. He had to _ go_. 

Trees and bushes whizzed past him, although he could barely make out what was ahead due to the pitch black that surrounded him. He stumbled on a tree root but pressed on. 

Snatches of a memory flashed through his mind—fists coming at his face, the sound of gunshots...Higgins on the ground, blood smeared on her face—and everywhere else. A grimace and whimper of pain.

Higgins. That’s why he needed to run. Another surge of adrenaline rushed through his body. He crashed through the brush, vaguely entertaining the thought that any wildlife would probably be scared off by his loud approach. He didn’t care. Higgy was hurt.

His heart pounded inside of his chest. Why had he left her? He should’ve stayed, should’ve gotten her out there...

_ "Magnum, you have to go. You’ll have—have to get...help." _Had she said that? He couldn’t remember for sure…

Bits and pieces of memories were coming back to him, but they were disjointed and vague. The men...there had been several of them. With guns and angry scowls. He recalled being tied to a chair at one point with what felt like endless blows being rained down upon him. And that hadn’t even been the worst of it. 

He tripped over something—maybe a rock, maybe a stick—and fell headlong into some brush. It was only when he tried to catch himself that he realized his hands were still bound together. There had been no time to find a knife to cut himself loose...or maybe he had looked. Whatever. At this point there was nothing he could do about it, and his mind was screaming at him to _ get up _and run. He shoved himself to his feet and took off, ducking to avoid a low-hanging tree branch.

_Get help, Higgy’s hurt, _he replayed in his head, the mantra in sync with the pace of his footsteps.

He stumbled again and gasped for breath, pausing for a split second to choose a direction when the dirt road he’d been following forked. Their captors hadn’t driven for _ too _long, had they? Surely he’d come up to a real road soon—something other than this overgrown trail. In the dark, everything looked the same. He wasn’t sure. And he hated not knowing for sure, because he didn’t have time to be wrong. Higgins was counting on him to find help. Why hadn’t they just phoned for help?

_ “No service,” Magnum growled and chucked the phone across the room. He glanced down at the figure sprawled out on the ground in front of him. _ _ “Higgy! Hey, hey, open your eyes for me.” Fear crawled up his spine at Higgy’s pale face and closed eyes. “You gotta stay awake.” _

“Come on,” he growled, pushing himself harder. How long had he been on the move? _ Too long, _he decided. But he wouldn’t—he couldn’t—give up. He had to get help.

He was sweating now, but that didn’t deter him. _ Faster, faster. _He just had to put one foot in front of the other. 

Magnum swallowed against the dryness in his throat and squinted up ahead. Funny, he must be losing it, because he could’ve sworn he saw headlights...

Car doors slammed, and a worried shout met his ears. “Thomas!”

He knew that voice. No, voices. There was definitely more than one.

Suddenly, he was greeted with the concerned faces of T.C., Rick, and...Katsumoto?

Something sliced through the ropes knotted around his wrists. The bonds had barely fallen to the ground before Thomas was waving his hands animatedly, words spilling out. “They—we gotta—the cabin—”

“Hey, T.M.—” 

"Come on, come on. We have to _ go _." He desperately clawed at Rick's shirt, trying to convey the urgency of the situation. Why were they all just standing there? There wasn’t time to waste! 

"Thomas, just slow down." The voice was calm and soothing, but Magnum couldn't bring himself to relax. There was something_ important _he needed to tell them. It gnawed at the corners of his mind, but he couldn’t quite grasp it now. He had to get them back to the cabin...or shed...wherever. Someone needed help.

Higgy.

Higgins needed his help. 

He whirled back toward the way he came, jabbing a finger in the direction of the brush. "This way! C'mon!" 

"_Thomas. _" Hands were on his arms, stopping him from taking off again. “You’re bleeding, man.”

_ What? _Thomas felt his brow furrow in confusion. He didn’t need help—Higgy did. He glanced down and realized that maybe all the blood coating his shirt wasn’t just from Higgins.

Then the pain hit him like a punch to the gut. He crumpled to the ground, gasping and coughing. He felt sick. There were more hands on him, turning him, shifting him to a more comfortable position—although no position was particularly comfortable while retching. Pain tore through his chest as he gagged.

But he couldn’t let the darkness overtake him. “H—Higgins—” he gasped out. “Cabin...few miles back.” He weakly lifted a hand to point again. “C’mon.”

Footsteps, car doors slamming, an engine revving...the sounds blurred together as someone gently maneuvered his head to rest on a softer surface.

“W—where…?” 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Rick muttered. “Katsumoto and T.C. are going to get Jules.”

Thomas tried to push himself up. “I gotta...show them—”

“Slow down, big guy. You’re not going anywhere.” Concern laced Rick’s tone as he spoke. “Just...try to stay still. The ambulance is on the way.”

“M’fine,” Thomas protested, ignoring the way his chest heaved, trying to get a decent breath—which wasn’t working very well. He could barely make out his friend’s figure hovering above him.

“You’re not. Tommy, I don’t even know _ how _you made it as far as you did.” Rick shook his head incredulously. Magnum wasn’t sure exactly what he was doing, but he felt something press down on his left shoulder, and he bit back a yelp.

“Adrenaline…’s a powerful thing,” he managed to mutter, eyes drifting to meet his friend’s.

Rick grinned through his worry. “You’ve got that right.”

Magnum coughed again. “I...I couldn’t carry her,” he tried to explain. He hadn’t wanted to leave her, but there wasn’t another option.

_ “Higgy, no...I’ll carry you.” _

_ A choking cough that brought a spot of blood to her lips echoed through the now-silent room. “Magnum...I can’t. We don’t...don’t even know where we are. You—you have to go. Please.” _

_ He couldn’t just leave her...but what choice did he have? If he didn’t get help soon, she would die. _

Magnum didn’t even register the approaching sirens, nor did he realize more people were buzzing about until lights lit up the area and someone pressed something to his face. Half of his brain told him it was just an oxygen mask to help him breathe easier, but the other half told him he needed to get out of there, now. His hand grabbed for the mask covering his nose, fighting against the restraining grips keeping him from moving.

“H—Higgins!” he shout came out as more of a hoarse whisper, but it didn’t matter. He had to get up, he had to go.

“Hey, Thomas!” It was Rick again, this time right up in his face to grab his attention. “Katsumoto just radioed in. They got her. She’s alive.”

The second round of adrenaline rushed out of Thomas along with Rick’s words. He sagged onto the stretcher, head drooping limply.

“That’s it,” an unfamiliar voice encouraged. “Your friend will be okay.”

Thomas wasn’t sure he trusted the paramedic’s assessment, but he did trust Rick. He shot a weary glance in his friend’s direction, wanting more clarification.

“The second ambulance is there right now,” Rick added, reaching down to squeeze Thomas’s shoulder gently. “We’ll meet them at the hospital.” 

It wasn’t exactly the information he wanted—he needed to know if she was _ okay. _

But the darkness was pulling at him, and he couldn’t fight it off any longer. Confident that Higgins would be safe in his friends' hands, he finally fell into the dark tunnel that beckoned to him.


End file.
